FORMER FIANNA Fáil TD James McDaid had the worst attendance record in Dáil Éireann before his sudden resignation last month.
Dr McDaid was in attendance at Leinster House for only 38 days between March and the end of October, less than half the days of most of his colleagues.
The former deputy for Donegal North East missed 23 of the 59 sitting days of the Dáil and was present in Leinster House for only two non-sitting days.
Under the new expenses regime introduced earlier this year, TDs and Senators must be in attendance at Leinster House for 120 days each year, which means they must attend on approximately 25 non-sitting days.
However, because the system was introduced only in March this year, the attendance requirement for 2010 is 100 days.
Official attendance records from March to October, released yesterday by Oireachtas Éireann, showed most Dublin TDs had already attained the 100-day target for the year by October 31st, two months before the target date.
Those who have reached the target include former taoiseach Bertie Ahern, who was in attendance for 51 of the 59 sitting days. The records show his attendance for 49 non-sitting days.
The records for most non-Dublin TDs show attendances in the 70s and 80s – all were expected to reach the 100-day attendance target in the last two months of the year.
Mr McDaid’s two constituency colleagues in Donegal North East – Niall Blaney of Fianna Fáil and Joe McHugh of Fine Gael – were in attendance for 75 days and 78 days respectively.
A number of TDs show combined attendance for sitting and non-sitting days in the 60s.
The lowest besides Dr McDaid is the former minister for defence Willie O’Dea, whose total attendance was 62 days. He missed 11 sitting Dáil days, being present for 48 of the 59 days during which the Dáil was in session.
Meath East TD Shane McEntee attended for a total of 66 days.
Cork North West deputy Michael Moynihan attended on 67 days.
There was a higher attendance rate among the 60 members of the Seanad, with a majority showing attendance rates of between 90 and 100 by the end of October. The person with the lowest attendance rate was Labour Senator Alex White, who was present for 65 days. They included 50 of the 56 sitting days as well as 15 non-sitting days.
The new rules, introduced earlier this year, require members to make a refund of 1 per cent of their annual travel and accommodation allowance for each day below 100 [in 2010] they attend.
“The regulations provide for exceptions for absences due to ill health, foreign travel and domestic committee travel as well as extraordinary circumstances which could not be foreseen by the members.”
A number of TDs who were stranded abroad by the ash cloud earlier this year claimed attendance days on the grounds of “extraordinary circumstances”. They later withdrew the claims.
The travel and accommodation allowance begins at €12,000 per year for Dublin deputies and rises to €37,850 per year for those living 360km or more from Leinster House.
Those qualifying for the highest amount are TDs based in west Cork, west Kerry and Donegal.
Senators are paid a reduced amount as there are no payments for constituency travel. Their allowances begin at €7,000 each year for Dublin-based Senators and increase to €32,850 for those 360km or more from Leinster House.
A second allowance introduced under the new rules has allowed TDs to receive an unvouched amount of €15,000 per year or a fully vouched amount of €25,700. This is paid towards meeting the costs of constituency office expenses including mobile phones, home telephones, advertising, publishing of leaflets and room hire. Any TD who exceeds the €15,000 threshold will have to provide receipts for the entire amount.